Typically, as shown in FIG. 1, upon the receipt and initial processing of a purchase order (typically paper), the seller of the goods (Company A) ships the goods to the buyer/customer (Company B), and mails to the buyer (Company B) an invoice. Terms of payment are stated on the invoice, with mailing instructions—typically to a lockbox address if Company A has sufficient volume. Costs incurred by Company A to invoice include printing, envelopes, and mailing. Costs to Company B include creating and printing the check, envelope and mailing costs.
The lockbox bank, on behalf of Company A, receives the mail sent to the lockbox, opens the envelopes, sorts out the non-invoice letters, sorts invoices, deposits the checks, and sends to Company A the non-invoice letters. In addition, the lockbox bank sends to Company A information regarding invoices and the checks it received and deposited (this information can be sent either electronically or manually). Company A must then compare the data received from the lockbox bank with its own records (accounts receivable ledger), and determine/resolve payment discrepancies (different payment amounts received), as well as resolve disputes and slow-pay situations. A significant amount of the time spent by Company A's receivable department is resolving these payment discrepancies.
Depending on the industry, it is not uncommon that 5-10% of the payments received do not match the invoiced amount, and 2-4% cannot be easily resolved and reconciled (i.e., are easily identifiable as an agreed upon payment discount, volume rebate, etc.). It is very common that the difficult reconciliation problems are the result of communication issues between Company B, the sales force of Company A and its invoicing department, or with return goods. Unresolved items may be outstanding for 90 days or longer before being reconciled, thus the receivable portfolio statistics for many companies are distorted.
If Company A wishes to borrow money against its accounts receivable, or wishes to securitize its accounts receivables, a lender or investor will spend a significant amount of time analyzing the difference between the invoiced amounts and the actual payments received, and focus on the unusual or difficult reconciliation situations. If there are a lot of discrepancies that either cannot be predicted, or take a long time to resolve, the lenders and investors will require additional collateral, or a higher yield to offset the uncertainty. In addition, legal steps to protect the financier or purchaser are time consuming.
Currently, there is not a clearinghouse process that accomplishes a process of matching and reconciliation of payables and receivables information flow between trading partners, allows and facilitates communication between companies regarding specific invoice agreements and adjustments prior to payment, as well as creates a method to finance the payment flows, taking into account legal and cash domain issues.
Nevertheless, large and middle market companies are struggling to efficiently manage their working capital, while trying to reduce borrowing costs, banking fees, and treasury management costs (overall receivable and payable management costs). Current providers of traditional treasury management products continue to lower standard transaction costs, for payment remittance and receivable collection activity, but this does not address the financing inefficiencies in the current method.
Many companies have funding programs in place based on secured, borrowing bases against receivables, or have sold or securitized their receivables in the capital markets. The continuing growth in the securitization of trade receivables will be dependent upon the ability to improve the efficiency of disseminating trade receivable information and controlling, and/or consolidating, payment methods. In addition, the factoring industry would also be positively and profoundly affected by a more efficient method, such as a clearing center to trade receivable information and cash-flows.
Likely results of a clearinghouse for trade receivables would be more standardized financing documentation and structures, more efficient legal and operational segregation of cash flows, as well as efficiencies that will result in better financing terms for secured borrowers, sellers of receivables, and capital market issuers alike.